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New York City parks, beaches and pedestrian plazas became no-smoking zones this week as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's healthy habits campaign that already includes similar bans for restaurants and bars. The measure, similar to those already in place in Chicago and Los Angeles, was called an attack on civil liberties by those who support the right to smoke in public.

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San Francisco is finding fresh ways to revamp wasted public spaces into pedestrian-friendly plazas. So far, the city has remade strips of unused land across the city into public art installations, skateboard and dog parks, walkways for pedestrians and sitting areas for nearby workers.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the city's health commissioner have advanced a proposal to change the minimum age for cigarette purchase to 21, from 18. The proposal is part of a citywide campaign that has banned smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars, parks, beaches and plazas.

The Berkeley, Calif., City Council unanimously approved the Downtown Streets & Open Space Improvement Plan, which aims to make downtown more pedestrian friendly and provides guidelines for designing parks, plazas and streetscapes. The project includes bike lanes, green infrastructure, landscaping, sidewalks and a transit plaza.

Companies are opening on-site health clinics for employees in hopes that easier access to medical services will lead to more preventive care and lower costs long-term. Smaller companies that cannot afford their own center are banding together to operate joint clinics or making use of mobile health vans that visit work sites.

Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., on Wednesday will implement a no-smoking rule on its grounds, the latest major hospital in the area to ban smoking on campus. Baptist Health Care and Santa Rosa Medical Center are already smoke-free, and the Naval Hospital plans to go smoke-free on Nov. 18.